BTS Busan Concert 'Exorbitant Accommodation Fees' Controversy.. President Lee Also Criticizes, "Should Have Released the List"

*This content was translated by AI.

President Lee Jae-myung, regarding the upcoming Busan concert by the group BTS, called for measures to address the so-called "exorbitant accommodation fees" controversy.

President Lee, presiding over the "Report on the Preparation Status for Hosting the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee" held at BEXCO in Busan on the 27th, stated, "If stories about exorbitant accommodation fees resurface when hosting large-scale events, the image of the entire city of Busan will be severely damaged."

President Lee added, "I went to Jagalchi Market yesterday, and merchants told me, 'Many Chinese tourists are coming. Especially, Chinese tourists have a high demand for food. It greatly helps the market.' (Busan) is a region with immense potential, and particularly, there is high potential for the development of the tourism industry."

He continued, "The biggest obstacles to the tourism industry are unfriendliness, overcharging, and especially things akin to racial discrimination. They suffer significant damage. We must be careful."

He further remarked, "As soon as tourists start coming, if they are overcharged, or if they are subjected to unnecessarily insulting remarks or unfriendliness, and a YouTube video is posted, the city's reputation is ruined in an instant. Trying to charge a bit more for accommodation causes trouble for the entire neighborhood. It would be good to release a list of companies involved."

President Lee also added, "(It's not that I'm angry about being charged a high price. It's that I'm angry because I booked for 100,000 won, but then, for some strange reason, it was cancelled and I was charged 1 million won)."

Earlier, BTS members themselves expressed regret by directly addressing the accommodation fee controversy that erupted ahead of their Busan concert.

On the 26th (Korean time), while conducting a Weverse live broadcast after the conclusion of the American Music Awards in Las Vegas, USA, BTS mentioned, "There is a lot of news coming out regarding accommodation businesses ahead of this Busan concert."

RM expressed regret, saying, "I hope they don't do that. Shouldn't we look at things in the long run? Isn't Busan currently becoming trendy and feeling like Korea's Miami?"

Suga also showed his distress, stating, "Busan's atmosphere as a tourist destination is really good these days," while Jimin offered a sharp remark, "I hope they can only bring back good memories from Busan this time. Of course, money is like that, but it's too extreme."

Meanwhile, BTS is scheduled to hold 'BTS World Tour 'Arirang in Busan'' on June 12 and 13 at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium. As news of the concert spread, accommodation prices in Busan, which were normally 50,000 to 70,000 won, skyrocketed to several million won based on the concert dates, sparking the controversy over exorbitant accommodation fees.

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*This content was translated by AI.